Huang Yaoshi

Huang Yaoshi is a loner who harbours unorthodox and heretical views on traditional Chinese rites and social norms. He is the master of Peach Blossom Island. Apart from being a formidable martial artist, he is also versed in other fields such as military strategy, music and divination. His eccentric personality causes him to be feared and shunned by others.

Huang Yaoshi is married to Feng Heng and has six apprentices. He has scores of servants on his island, who are deaf and mute. Rumours in the jianghu say that he intentionally disabled them, but in fact, they were already mute and deaf before they became his servants. He recruited them as his servants to relieve them from the social stigma of their impairments so that they can enjoy a better life on his island. However, he does not wish to promote an image of himself as a kind and compassionate person so he spread those negative rumours about himself. Only his family and apprentices know the truth.

Shortly after his marriage to Feng Heng, Huang Yaoshi met Wang Chongyang's junior, Zhou Botong. He learnt from Zhou Botong that Wang Chongyang had died and that Zhou had inherited the Nine Yin Manual. He wanted the book for himself so he tricked Zhou Botong into allowing his wife to read it. Zhou Botong agreed and let her read the second volume of the manual. Feng Heng had eidetic memory so she memorised the book easily. She lied to Zhou Botong that the manual was fake and that it was actually a copy of a book of childish rites she had memorised by heart. She recited the first few verses of the manual verbatim to Zhou Botong, who mistakenly believed her and destroyed the book in anger. After Zhou Botong left, Feng Heng wrote a copy of the manual from memory for her husband.

Two of Huang Yaoshi's apprentices, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, fell in love and were afraid of informing their master of their wedding plans as they were unsure whether their master would give them his blessings or violently object. They eloped, stole their master's copy of the Nine Yin Manual, and fled from Peach Blossom Island.

In the same year, Feng Heng was pregnant with Huang Rong. When she learnt that the copy she wrote had been stolen, she attempted to write another from memory for her husband. However, the stress was too much for her to bear so she died shortly after giving birth to Huang Rong. Huang Yaoshi was deeply tramautised by the loss of his wife and driven to near-insanity. He vented his anger on his other four apprentices (Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng, Wu Mianfeng and Feng Mofeng) by crippling them and banishing them from his island.

Huang Yaoshi later regrets bitterly for inflicting such a heavy punishment on his innocent apprentices. He sets off to find his daughter, who has left home after quarrelling with her father. He meets Mei Chaofeng at Guiyun Manor on Lake Tai, where Lu Chengfeng has settled down. He agrees that Mei Chaofeng has been duly punished since she has lost her sense of sight and her husband. He forgives her and asks her to find his other apprentices and bring them back to the manor so he can heal their legs. However, he never saw his other apprentices again: Chen Xuanfeng was killed by Guo Jing; Qu Lingfeng was killed by Shi Yanming; Wu Mianfeng died of illness; Feng Mofeng has become a blacksmith and is killed by Jinlun Guoshi in the sequel. Huang Yaoshi later accepts Lu Chengfeng's son, Lu Guanying, and Qu Lingfeng's daughter, Shagu, as his grand-apprentices.

Zhou Botong realised that he had been tricked by Huang Yaoshi so he returned to Peach Blossom Island to demand an explanation from Huang. Huang Yaoshi was still embattled by the loss of his wife. Zhou Botong's confrontational attitude merely fuelled the anger and frustration in him. When Huang Yaoshi blamed Zhou Botong for his wife's death, Zhou retorted angrily that he had also suffered in a similar experience with Liu Ying. Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong started fighting but neither of them was able to defeat his opponent. Huang Yaoshi imprisoned Zhou Botong on his island by sealing all possible exit routes. Zhou Botong roamed the island and settled in a cave for the next 15 years. During that period of time, Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong taunted each other to fight and kept themselves occupied with their conflict. Their feud is resolved when Guo Jing visits the island and meets Zhou Botong.

Huang Yaoshi is very protective of his daughter and loves her with his life as she reminds him of his deceased wife. He imparts all his skills to her since she was a child and hoped to groom her to become his heir. When his daughter reaches adolescence, he decides to find a suitable husband for her. Ouyang Feng visits Peach Blossom Island with his nephew, Ouyang Ke, to propose a marriage between Ouyang Ke and Huang Rong. Huang Yaoshi favours Ouyang Ke and wants him to be his son-in-law. At the same time, Guo Jing also visits the island with his master, Hong Qigong. Hong Qigong nominates his apprentice to be Huang Yaoshi's son-in-law. Huang Yaoshi had met Guo Jing earlier at Guiyun Manor and wants to kill Guo to avenge Chen Xuanfeng.

To make the competition for his daughter's hand-in-marriage a fair one, Huang Yaoshi sets a series of three tests for the two contestants: Guo Jing and Ouyang Ke. The first obstacle is a test of martial arts. Ouyang Feng spars with Guo Jing while Hong Qigong fights Ouyang Ke. Guo Jing wins the first bout but ties with Ouyang Ke in the subsequent round, which involves appreciation of a piece of music played by Huang Yaoshi. The last assessment is a test of memory, in which Huang Yaoshi produces an incomplete copy of the Nine Yin Manual, without identifying the book, and asks the two contestants to memorise the text and recite to him later. Guo Jing read the manual before so he recites fluently and defeats Ouyang Ke.

Huang Yaoshi does not initially agree to Guo Jing's marriage with his daughter as he dislikes Guo, who is slow in learning and appears dumb. However, he eventually gives them his blessings when he sees that they truly love each other.

Huang Yaoshi makes several brief appearances in the sequel. He rescues Cheng Ying from Li Mochou and accepts the child as his student. He develops a special bond with Yang Guo as both of them share the same distaste for the societal norms of their time, and he teaches Yang Guo two of his celebrated skills. Huang Yaoshi also participates in the defence of Xiangyang from Mongol invaders. At the end of the novel, he retains his original title as "Eastern Heretic" of the new "Five Greats" on Mount Hua, alongside Zhou Botong, Yang Guo, Guo Jing and Yideng.

Apart from physical skills and martial arts, Huang Yaoshi is also versed in literature, mathematics, divination, medicine, and other arts. He imparts his knowledge to his daughter and students.

• The Bone Penetrating Needle (附骨针) is a needle with slow acting poison applied at the tip. Upon contact with the skin, it will penetrate the flesh and lodge itself into the victim's bone. The victim will suffer in agony for a year before eventually dying.
• The Soft Porcupine Armour (软猬甲) is a special lightweight armour with spikes on it that will protect the wearer from all kinds of metal weapons. This armour was originally intended as a gift for Zhou Botong but Huang Yaoshi passed it to his daughter eventually. The armour later saves Huang Rong's life when Yang Kang attempts to kill her.

Over the years, Huang Yaoshi has been portrayed by different actors:

• Tan, Xianmao (2005). Huang Yaoshi: The Practitioner of Eccentric Swordsmanship. In Rankings of Jin Yong's Characters. Chinese Agricultural Press. (in Chinese)